"Boys"
Paul McCartney’s bassline in “Boys” plays a crucial role in driving the song’s rhythm and defining its harmonic structure. The walking bassline style—rooted in jazz and popularized through skiffle and rock and roll—became a hallmark of the Merseybeat sound. This technique involves playing a steady sequence of quarter or eighth notes that move mostly by step or small intervals, outlining the chord progression while providing a continuous, flowing rhythmic foundation. In “Boys,” McCartney’s bass maintains a consistent stream of eighth notes that push the groove forward and clearly articulate the song’s chords. This persistent movement works closely with the drum pattern, mirroring the hi-hat rhythm and emphasizing the kick and snare hits, which together create the song’s tight backbeat feel.
The bass line primarily outlines seventh chords, which consist of the root note, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. The typical pattern played over most measures follows this sequence: root, root again, major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, minor seventh repeated, major sixth, and perfect fifth. The major sixth acts as a chromatic passing tone, adding melodic interest and harmonic tension between the chord tones.
Stylistically, Paul McCartney played the bass with a pick (or plectrum, for those of you with advanced degrees). This gave the sound greater attack and clarity, allowing individual notes to cut through the mix more distinctly. The sharper transient from the pick complemented Ringo Starr’s crisp drum accents, helping the bass function not just as a harmonic anchor but as a percussive element in its own right. Combined with McCartney’s precise rhythmic placement, the tone added definition to the song’s groove and ensured the bass lines were prominent even within the dense guitar and drum textures.
In the final measure of the twelve-bar blues progression, the bass holds steady on the root note—in this case, the note B—providing a solid tonal anchor for Ringo’s fill before the cycle begins again.